Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Aziziyah
In Al Aziziyah, central Jeddah, restaurants and cafés sit close to residential homes, so they need precise HVAC that isolates kitchen smells and smoke from the neighbourhood. We balance pressure and make-up air, protect coils from grease, and keep both diners and neighbours comfortable.
- Pressure balance
- Make-up air
- Coil protection
Clients We're Proud to Serve
Organisations and companies that trusted Alrabih with their projects.
When your restaurant needs a specialist
- 1
Kitchen smells reaching diners
When the extract hood pulls out more air than is replaced, the kitchen goes negative and draws air from the dining room, bringing smells with it. The answer is calculating the volumes and delivering make-up air close to the hood.
- 2
Dining room stays warm despite the AC
A full dining room in Jeddah's humid summer raises heat and moisture load noticeably. Design must account for peak occupancy, and the right diffuser layout achieves even cooling across tables, not cold near the duct and warm in the corners.
- 3
Repeated breakdowns in kitchen AC units
Grease vapour from the burners settles on evaporator coils and blocks airflow, raising pressure and stressing the compressor. Placing the unit away from grease currents and scheduling coil cleaning reduces this damage significantly.
Who it's for
Opening a new restaurant that needs a full HVAC system
We design the cooling and make-up air system from scratch to match your kitchen and dining layout before you open.
Ask on WhatsAppYour restaurant is running but smells are reaching the tables
We survey the existing system, measure pressure between kitchen and dining, then correct the fault by adding make-up air or adjusting the air balance.
Ask on WhatsApp
What the work covers
- Kitchen and dining pressure survey
- Make-up air for hood
- Diffuser layout for dining
- Ductwork to SMACNA standards
- Air balance commissioning
How we work
How we work
- 1
Site and kitchen survey
We visit, measure the spaces, review the existing extract hood and burner positions, and find where negative pressure is occurring before any design work.
- 2
Design and equipment selection
We design the make-up air and cooling systems together, and select units from Carrier, YORK, General, Midea, Gree or Smart Gold to suit the space and the load.
- 3
Duct fabrication and installation
We fabricate ducts in our workshop from G90 galvanised sheet to precise sizes, install the units, and run Mueller copper in runs of up to 30 metres without welded joints, insulated with Armaflex.
- 4
Balancing and handover
We run the system and adjust dampers until the kitchen sits at slight negative and the dining room at slight positive, confirming that doors open easily and no kitchen smell crosses to the guests.
Integrated design or separate units with no balance?
| Alrabih | The usual way | |
|---|---|---|
| Make-up air | Calculated and delivered to the hood | Usually not addressed |
| Dining pressure | Slight positive, no smell transfer | Negative, pulls kitchen air in |
| Coil protection | Unit placed away from grease | Repeated breakdowns |
| Cooling spread | Diffusers sized for full occupancy | Uneven, warm corners |
| Kitchen ductwork | Fabricated in-house from G90 sheet | Off-the-shelf sizes, poor fit |
Everything your AC needs, from one team
From system design and duct fabrication to installation, commissioning and maintenance.
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Some of our work
Ductwork, rooftop units and diffusers, from work we've completed in Jeddah.
Customer reviews
What our customers say
- Muhammadramzan 2641
“MashaaAllah. Services are so good. Behaviour and kindness 100/100. Prices are less then Market. Fully recommended”
- shahzeb armani
“Wow. Prices are so comfortable. Outstanding services. People are so talented and nice”
- Tawfik AlyawerLocal Guide
“U can find all u need for air conditioning”
Your satisfaction matters to us! If you had a great experience with us, we'd love a 5-star rating and a kind review.
Worked with us? Leave a reviewService areas
We come to you anywhere in Jeddah
From Al Shiraa and Al Yaqout in the north to Al Thaghr and Al Quraiyat in the south, with our base in Al Aziziyah.
What sets this district apart
Al Aziziyah is a mixed-use neighbourhood blending residential and commercial, with restaurants and cafés often in multi-use buildings sandwiched between residential flats. This proximity to homes means kitchen smells and steam must not drift to neighbouring flats or cause complaints. We focus on full hood duct isolation, strong external make-up air, and coil protection filters to achieve complete balance between diner comfort and building residents' peace.
Al Aziziyah is in central Jeddah, marked by dense mixed-use buildings with residential flats and shops side by side.
Most restaurants here have hood units mounted on multi-storey building roofs with limited internal ductwork.
The AC setup in Al Aziziyah
- 1
Ceiling hood with sound and odour isolation
We mount the hood on the building roof with ducts wrapped in sound and odour-absorbing materials to minimise impact on neighbouring residents.
- 2
Separate outdoor make-up air unit
A standalone make-up air unit balances hood exhaust and ensures no negative pressure pulls from flats or the street.
- 3
Grease-guard filters on coils
Extra filters stop grease particles and steam reaching main coils.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Aziziyah
- 1
Send kitchen and building layout
Clear photos of the kitchen, hood location, and the roof or exterior wall where units will mount.
- 2
Confirm available electrical power
Ensure a separate circuit with sufficient capacity exists in the distribution panel for the outdoor unit and hood.
- 3
Contact building management before the visit
Notify building management and residents of planned work to avoid complaints during installation and testing.
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FAQ
Questions about Restaurant & cafe HVAC
What is the difference between make-up air and kitchen air conditioning?
Make-up air replaces the volume the hood extracts, its purpose is pressure balance not necessarily cooling. Kitchen air conditioning tackles burner heat and lowers temperature for the staff. Both may be needed, and the site survey determines which your kitchen requires.
Do outdoor seating areas need a different approach in Jeddah?
Yes. In Jeddah's heat and humidity, fans alone are not enough during peak months. The right option depends on whether the space has an open roof or a partial enclosure and how large the area is. We assess the spot and propose suitable units after the survey.
How are AC coils protected from kitchen grease?
The first step is design: we position kitchen units in airflow paths away from the grease rising off the burners. In preventive maintenance contracts we schedule pressure coil cleaning before build-up raises stress on the compressor, because early cleaning is simpler and less costly than a repair.
Can existing ductwork in an operating restaurant be repaired or does it need replacing?
The decision follows a duct inspection: we look for air leaks, grease build-up inside, and sheet corrosion from Jeddah's salty air. If the structure is sound we seal joints with Foster sealants and re-insulate with Kimmco. If not, we fabricate new sections in our workshop and replace the damaged runs.
Does a packed dining room during peak season affect how the AC performs?
Yes, every person in the room adds heat and moisture, and this is significant in Jeddah's summer. Design therefore accounts for full occupancy load, not average attendance, and diffusers are positioned to deliver even cooling across all tables. The exact layout is confirmed after the site survey.
Cooking smells from my kitchen reach the flats above, how do I stop it?
We focus on full duct isolation and strong external make-up air so the hood pulls only outward, with no leakage upwards or to the sides.
Does the make-up air unit strain the building's shared electrics?
We calculate the unit load and run it on a separate circuit from the distribution panel to avoid straining the building's shared power.
My kitchen is sandwiched between two flats, can you fully isolate odours?
Yes, we seal hood ducts with sound and odour-absorbing materials and supply enough make-up air to ensure full kitchen extraction, not spillage to adjacent flats.
Grease builds up fast in the hood ducts, do you offer regular cleaning?
We install protection filters on coil intake and recommend duct cleaning every three months to prevent blockages and fire risk.
